MIRDC Completes Grey Cast Iron FC250 Properties Database to Help Machine Tool Makers Improve Turret Precision and Lifespan

To help Taiwanese machine tool suppliers better compete against rivals from Europe and Japan, the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC), a government-funded R&D institute, has just finished constructing a grey cast iron FC250 properties database for insiders to improve turret dimensional precision and lifespan.

MIRDC has taken the job mainly because high-end precision machinery industries in the technologically advanced countries have generally set up thorough databases for technologies regarding precision mechanical design and various material properties, which are proprietary and inaccessible to foreigners.

To help Taiwan's machine tool sector achieve technological breakthroughs to catch up with rivals from developed nations, MIRDC therefore has completed a database of  ultrasonic tests on grey cast iron FC250, as well as variations of the material's dimensional stability during heat treatment and time-dependent reduction of residual stress.

Through building the valuable database, MIRDC says that it has therefore worked out a new technology that keeps time-dependent dimensional variation of the material to a minimum between plus and minus 4.2μm. The achievement will enable Taiwanese CNC drilling machine makers to effectively improve lifespan of high-precision, fast-indexing turrets, and greatly shorten R&D to launch new machine models.

Additionally, MIRDC has also been working with local machine tool makers on a 3-year joint research on traceability in dimensional measurements of FC250, FC300 and FC350 grey cast iron, aiming to work out optimal processing techniques according to research results to offer local die casting and precision machinery suppliers.

Taiwan's machine tool sector has built high profile in the global market over the past decades, and now is eagerly trying to upgrade mechanical precision and value to survive intensifying competition. Presently operators generally lack effective methods and technology for measuring and testing time-dependent residual stresses of large die castings, therefore unable to further enhance stability and quality of machines. Hence  MIRDC's decision to cooperate with an ultrasonic testing technology work group from National Taipei University of Technology to set up the abovementioned database and develop related technology and systems. (SC)